Fastening devices



Dec. 4, 1962 P. s. JEAVONS 3,066,965

FASTENING DEVICES Filed July 11, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet l Amwrax Dec. 4, 1962 P. s. JEAVONS FASTENING DEVICES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 11, 1961 Mum rm? PH/L/P Jm/veiwaoo Jaw/vs BY M United States Patent Office 3,066,965 Patented Dec. 4, 1962 land Filed .lniy 11, 196i, Ser. No, 123,307 Claims priority, application Great Britain Study 13, 1966 Claims. (531. 292-424) This invention relates to door fastening devices and in particular to motor vehicle door fastening devices.

On a motor vehicle door there is provided latch means which releasably engages with complementary latch means on the vehicle body to retain the door closed. The latch means on the door is operated from release means which may, for example, be a pushbutton or lever on the outside of the door. Between the latch means on the door and the pushbutton there is operating mechanism whereby pressure on the pushbutton will operate the latch means so that the door may be opened. This operating mechanism commonly includes a movable, usually pivoted, contactor of relatively large mass. it has been found that, when a vehicle door is slammed, the inertia of the contactor causes it to continue to move after the door is fully closed; this movement of the contactor may sometimes prevent the latch means on the door from engaging with the latch means on the body so that the door will bounce open again.

It is the object of the present invention to provide operating mechanism for interposition in a door fastening device between latch means of the device and manually operable release means for the latch means, whereby the above disadvantage is overcome.

According to the invention, mechanism for interposition in a door fastening device between latch means of the device and manually operable release means for the latch means includes actuating means for the latch means; a two-part contactor for operation by the release means to operate the actuating means and movable between a fastening position and a releasing position, a first part of the contactor being mounted on the second part thereof for movement relative thereto between first and second positions; resilient means to urge the contactor to its fastening position and to urge the first part to its first position; and a stop which coacts with the first part when the latter is in its first position to prevent movement of the contactor as a whole from its fastening position to its releasing position; the contactor being arranged so that releasing operation of the release means will first move the first part to its second position, in which it is clear of the stop, and will subsequently move the contactor as a whole from its fastening position to its releasing position.

Preferably the first part of the contactor is pivotally mounted on the second part which may in turn be pivot ally mounted to permit the contactor to rock between its fastening and releasing positions. A spring may be arranged to act on the first part to urge it to its first position and to urge the contactor as a Whole to its fastening position.

The parts may have complementary abutments arranged to be engaged when the first part is urged to its first position by the spring, the contactor being moved to its fastening position by the spring due to the engagement of said abutments. Furthermore, the parts may have complementary engaging means which engage when the first part is in its second position so that further releasing operation of the release means after the engage ment of the engaging means moves the contactor as a whole from its fastening position to its releasing position.

The release means, which may conveniently be a pushbutton device, is preferably arranged to act on a flange of the first part. The first part of the contactor may con veniently have a projection arranged to engage said stop when the first part is in its first position. The second part of the contactor may also have a projection engageable with a locking slide of the device to prevent movement of the contactor from its fastening position to its releasing position.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of an operating mecha nism of a door fastening device for a motor vehicle door embodying the invention, and

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation of the mechanism of FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the drawings, the operating mechanism includes a backplate it on which is pivotally mounted a contactor indicated generally at 11. The contactor is made in two parts, a lower part 12 which is pivotally mounted on the backplate at 13 and an upper part 14 which is pivotally mounted on the lower part at 15. A tension spring 16 has one end secured to a lug 17 on the backplate and its other end secured in an aperture 18 in the upper part 14 of the contactor. The upper part 14 is movable relatively to the lower part 12 between first and second positions and the spring 16 urges the upper part 14 to its first position shown in FIGURE 1 and in which complementary abutments constituted by a portion 19 and a flange 2' 3 on the parts 12 and 14 respectively are brought into engagement. The spring 16 also urges the contactor as a whole to a fastening position shown in FlGURE 1 and in which a lug 21 on the part 12 engages a lug 22 on the backplate.

The upper part 14 has a projection 23 which, when the upper part 14 is in its first position, coacts with a stop 2% on the backplate to prevent the contactor as a whole from substantial pivotal movement about the pivot axis 13 of the lower part 12. If, however, the upper part 14- is pivoted clockwise about its pivot 15 to its second position, the projection 23 is moved downwardly clear of the stop 24. When the upper part 14 is in its second position, complementary engaging means constituted by the lug 21 and a portion 25 of the part 14 come into engagement so that further movement of the upper part 14- to the right in FIGURE 1 will move the contactor as a whole against the spring 16 and away from the lug 2-2 to its releasing position.

The lower part 12 is provided with a roller 26 which engages a cam plate 27 pivoted at 28 to the backplate. The cam plate 27 in turn is connected to a cam 29 which cooperates with a keeper (not shown) on the vehicle body and provides latch means for the door. Clockwise movement of the contactor 11 as a whole from the position shown in FIGURE 1, its fastening position, to a releasing position causes the roller 26 to engage the cam plate 27 to rotate the cam 29 and release the latch means. The cam plate 27 has a spring 30 connected thereto urging it to a fastening position as shown in FIGURE 1.

Also mounted on the backplate is a movable locking slide 31 which has associated therewith an overcenter spring 32 whereby the slide is held in one of its locking and unlocking positions. One end of the spring is received in a recess 33 in the slide 31 and the other end of the spring is received in a recess 34 in the backplate. The lower part 12 of the contactor has a projection 35 which engages a portion 36 of the locking slide when the latter is in its locking position, said engagement preventing movement of the contactor to its releasing position. In FIGURE 1 the portion 36 is shown in full lines in its unlocking position, i.e. clear of the projection 35, and is indicated in broken lines at 36a in its locking position in which substantial rocking movement of the contactor is prevented by engagement of the projection 35 with the aosanee portion 36. The locking slide 31 may be moved either by a key in the vehicle door lock or by means of a sill control on the inside of the door.

The mechanism also includes a remote control lever 37 pivoted to the backplate at 33 and arranged to coact with an off-set portion 39 of the cam plate 27. The remote control lever 37 may be connected to linkage (not shown) whereby it may be operated from inside the vehicle door to turn the cam plate 27 to release the latch means.

A safety lever 44) is also provided which is pivoted to the backplate at 41 and has a flange 42 which may be caused to engage a slot 43 in the remote control lever 37 to render the latter inoperative so that the latch means cannot be operated from inside the vehicle.

In operation, if the latch means is to be released by means of a pushbutton, the latter acts on the flange 2% of the upper part 14 of the contactor and moves it clockwise initially from its first position to its second position. As mentioned above, in its second position the lug 21 and portion 25 come into engagement so that further releasing movement of the pushbutton will rotate the contactor as a whole clockwise about the pivot axis 13 of the lower part 12 so that the contactor moves to its releasing position and will rotate the cam plate 27 to turn the cam 2-5 and release the latch means. If, however, the door is slammed without the pushbutton having been depressed, the contactor is prevented from moving to its releasing position by engagement of the projection 23 on the upper part with the stop 24 on the backplate since, unless the pushbutton is operated, the upper part will remain in its first position in which it engages said stop. Thus, even if the inertia of the contactor is sufficient, were the contactor unrestrained, to move it to its releasing position against the spring 16 when the door was slammed and thus hold the cam plate in a position to release the latch means, the engagement of the projection 23 on the upper part of the contactor with the stop 2 2 on the backplate prevents this movement.

It will be seen that the invention provides operating mechanism wherein the effect of the inertia of the contactor Will not be able to hold the cam plate in a releasing position and thus prevent engagement of the latch means when the door is slammed. Moreover this improvement is obtained without the use of a heavy spring connected to the contactor.

I claim:

1. Mechanism for interposition in a door fastening device between latch means of the device and manually operable release means for the latch means, including actuating means for the latch means; a two-part contactor for operation by the release means to operate the actuating means and movable between a fastening position and a releasing position, a first part of the contactor being mounted on the second part thereof for movement relative thereto between first and second positions; resilient means to urge the contactor to its fastening position and to urge the first part to its first position; and a stop which coacts with the first part when the latter is in its first position to prevent movement of the contactor as a whole from its fastening position to its releasing position; the contactor being arranged so that releasing operation of the release means will first move the first part to its second position, in which it is clear of the stop, and will subsequently move the contactor as a whole from its fastening position to its releasing position.

2. Mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the first part of the contactor is pivotally mounted on the second part.

3. Mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the secnd part of the contactor is pivotally mounted to permit the contactor to rock between its fastening and releasing positions.

4. Means according to claim 1, wherein the contactor as a whole is urged to its fastening position and the first part is urged to its first position by a spring connected to the first part.

5. Mechanism for interposition in a door fastening device between latch means of the device and manually operable release means for the latch means, including actuating means for the latch means; a two-part contactor for operation by the release means to operate the actuating means and movable between a fastening position and a releasing position, a first part of the contactor being mounted on the second part thereof for movement relative thereto between first and second positions; a spring connected to said first part to urge the contactor to its fastening position and to urge the first part to its position, said parts having complementary abutments arranged to be engaged when the first part is urged to its first position by the spring and the contactor being moved to its fastening position by the spring due to the engagement of said abutments; and a stop which coacts with the first part when the latter is in its first position to prevent movement of the contactor as a whole from its fastening position to its releasing position; the contactor being arranged so that releasing operation of the release means will first move the first part to its second position, in which it is clear of the stop, and will subsequently move the contactor as a Whole from its fastening position to its releasing position.

6. Mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the first part is provided with a flange with which the release means engage.

7. Mechanism for interposition in a door fastening de vice between latch means of the device and manually operable release means for the latch means, including actuating means for the latch means; a two-part contactor for operation by the release means to operate the actuating means and movable between a fastening position and a releasing position, a first part of the contactor being mounted on the second part thereof for movement relative thereto between first and second positions; resilient means to urge the contactor to its fastening position and to urge the first part to its first position; and a stop which coacts with the first part when the latter is in its first position to prevent movement of the contactor as a whole from its fastening position to its releasing position; the contactor being arranged so that releasing operation of the release means will first move the first part to its second position, in which it is clear of the stop, and said parts having complementary engaging means which engage when the first part is in its second position so that further releasing operation of the release means after engagement of the engagement means moves the contactor as a whole from its fastening position to its releasing position.

8. Mechanism for interposition in a door fastening device between latch means for the device and manually operable release means for the latch means, including actuating means for the latch means; a two-part contactor for operation by the release means to operate the actuating means and movable between a fastening position and a releasing position, a first part of the contactor being mounted on the second part thereof for movement relative thereto between first and second positions; resilient means to urge the contactor to its fastening position; and a stop which coacts with the first part when the latter is in its first position to prevent movement of the contactor as a whole from its fastening position to its releasing position, said first part having a projection arranged to engage said stop when the first part is in its first position; the contactor being arranged so that releasing operation of the release means will first move the first part to its second position, in which it is clear of the stop, and will subsequently move the contactor as a Whole from its fastening position to its releasing position.

9. Mechanism for interposition in a door, fastening device between latch means of the device and manually operable release means for the latch means, including actuating means for the latch means; a two-part contact for operation by the release means to operate the actuating means and movable between a fastening position and a releasing position, a first part of the contactor being mounted on the second part thereof for movement relative thereto between first and second positions; resilient means to urge the contactor to its fastening position and to urge the first part to its first position; and a stop which coacts With the first part when the latter is in its first position to prevent movement of the contactor as a whole from its fastening position to its releasing position, and said second part having a projection engageable with a locking slide of the device to prevent movement of the contactor from its fastening position to its releasing position; the contactor being arranged so that releasing operation of the release means Will first move the first part to its second position, in which it is clear of the stop, and will subsequently move the contactor as a Whole from its fastening position to its releasing position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,864,641 Leslie Dec. 16, 1958 

